Services
Senior financial leadership calibrated to the cooperative model — at a cost your organization can actually sustain.
Most cooperatives between $2M and $20M in revenue sit in a difficult middle ground. The financial complexity — patronage distributions, member equity management, democratic governance reporting, capitalization strategy — exceeds what a bookkeeper can handle. But a full-time CFO at $250,000+ per year isn't a realistic line item.
A generalist fractional CFO who does cooperatives "on the side" isn't the answer either. They'll learn the mechanics of cooperative accounting on your timeline, at your expense, and still miss the governance-specific financial obligations your board needs to fulfill.
RBI's fractional CFO service was built for exactly this gap — by a practitioner who has spent three decades inside it.
What's included at each tier
Core Retainer
$3,000–$5,000/mo
Monthly close oversight, board financial package, cash flow management, up to 20 hrs/mo
Strategic Retainer
$5,000–$8,000/mo
Full CFO scope: forecasting, capital strategy, lender relationships, board attendance, up to 40 hrs/mo
Project / Advisory
$150–$250/hr
Targeted engagements: audit prep, capitalization projects, succession planning, refinancing support
Every engagement is scoped around your organization's specific needs. These are the core deliverables that underpin most retainer relationships.
Timely, accurate monthly close with a board-ready financial package — P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and variance analysis written for cooperative governance, not just accountants.
Rolling 12-month cash flow forecasts, scenario modeling for major decisions, and annual budgeting that your board can actually use to govern. Built around your cooperative's specific revenue and equity mechanics.
Maintaining banking relationships, preparing loan packages, negotiating covenants, and representing your organization's financial position to lenders who may be unfamiliar with cooperative financial structures.
Attendance at board meetings (in-person or remote), financial presentations that translate complex numbers into governance-relevant decisions, and training for board members on their fiduciary obligations.
Three- to five-year financial plans aligned with your cooperative's mission and membership growth goals. Capital investment analysis, expansion feasibility, and the financial model behind strategic decisions.
Annual audit preparation and management, tax strategy for cooperative entities (including Subchapter T considerations), and compliance with cooperative-specific regulatory requirements.
Patronage dividends must be calculated correctly against each member's proportional use of the cooperative, allocated between cash and retained equity, and treated properly under Subchapter T. Errors create tax exposure for the cooperative and its members. Most generalist CPAs have never calculated one.
A cooperative carries a liability to redeem retained member equity over time. That liability must be tracked, disclosed, and managed against cash flow. Boards that don't understand their revolving fund obligations routinely make distribution decisions that impair long-term solvency.
Cooperative boards have fiduciary obligations that are distinct from corporate boards — member benefit, patronage fairness, democratic accountability. Financial reporting that doesn't track against these obligations leaves boards unable to govern responsibly.
Cooperative financial statements have specific disclosure requirements under GAAP. Member equity sections, patronage allocations, and the treatment of non-member income all have specific accounting treatment that generalist auditors frequently miss until it becomes a restatement problem.